'How to be green? Many people have asked us this important question. It's really very simple and requires no expert knowledge or complex skills. Here's the answer. Consume less. Share more. Enjoy life.' Penny Kemp and Derek Wall

30 Apr 2011

have a look at this vid. appears to be a number of plain clothes (possibly TSG, SO15, maybe even army...fat, steroidal... definitely not London Met) snatching an individual for singing - the rest are British transport police except one chap with a clipboard who is also TSG (U on the shoulder).

Deterritorialization may mean to take the control and order away from a land or place (territory) that is already established. It is to undo what has been done. For example, when the Spanish conquered the Aztecs, the Spanish eliminated many symbols of Aztec beliefs and rituals. Reterritorialization usually follows, as in the example when the Spanish replaced the traditional structures with their own beliefs and rituals

I am so conscious that indigenous America was deterritorialized, without romanticising indigenous societies which had plenty of faults, I am so aware that they were destroyed and a new map put over the northern bit of what some people call Turtle Island....so much was commodified by European settlers as William Cronon has shown.

Indigenous people are walking to fight for a Great Lakes Commons, inspiring stuff....Americans too often confuse yield with plunder and prosperity with waste.

The fight for ecology is largely about creating new territories based on commons. Indigenous is a sociological concept and of course Professor Elinor Ostrom has been a splendid but nuanced advocate of indigenous approaches to economics and ecology, for example, she noted '“We have to get to the point where everyone recognizes if we do this together, we’re much better off in the next 20 years or 50 years,” she said. “The indigenous people in this country had a way of thinking seven generations into the future. We need to do more thinking about seven generations into the future.” here

The Mother Earth Water Walk began eight years ago, in the spring of 2003, as a result of the work of Anishinaabe elder Josephine Mandamin. She had grown up eating the fish and drinking the water on Manitou Island in Lake Superior and witnessed the collapse of the Great Lakes ecosystem during her lifetime. Today, most Anishinaabe communities have to boil their water before drinking it, and health agencies warn of the dangers of eating fish, once a staple of Great Lakes Indian Nations.

The Great Lakes hold 20 per cent of the fresh water in the world. But today the lakes region faces grave dangers: hydrofracking (fracturing of bedrock for oil and gas exploration), toxic releases, transport of radioactive waste, invasive species, oil refineries, huge consumption by bottled water companies and other corporate users along with the increasing privatization of water services for the 44 million people who get their drinking water from the lakes.

Josephine Mandamin felt compelled to take action about what was happening to the lakes. She asked herself “what will you do?” and, in the spring of 2003, answered the question by picking up a copper pail and walking around Lake Superior. Her mission was to raise awareness of threats to the lake and to teach people to love and care fore the water. Since then, every spring she and a small band of Anishinaabe and supporters have walked around one of the Great Lakes.

What will you do? “You have to decide what it is you are going to stand for,” Day explains. “Water is essential to life. We live in the water of the womb of our mother before we come into the world. We are birthed from water, our bodies are primarily water and we can’t survive without clean water. At some time in your life you have to take a stand.”

In Anishinaabe teachings, women are the caretakers of the water, entrusted with the responsibility to protect and speak for this precious resource. Through the Water Walk, women like Day will carry out this obligation, part of their original instructions from the Creator. They also hope to share their teachings with others by meeting with youth groups, religious congregations and other interested organizations along the way.

“We know that the water is living and there are many water spirits, and that’s who we sing to, but to most people, the water is not alive. When we commodify water, it becomes a product and we no longer think about it as a living thing,” she explains.

Day clarifies that Indigenous peoples are not trying to save the earth. “The earth will survive. The issue is whether we as humans will survive. For that to happen, we need to start thinking and behaving differently. The idea that ‘bigger is better’— well, just look at how huge dams and nuclear power plants have impacted the water. We hope to educate communities about the damage we are doing to our Mother Earth, to the plants and animals, and to the water.

“This is not just about Indigenous peoples,” she stresses. “Every place in the world there is something happening to the water.”

Preemptive raids on protesters before the Royal Wedding.....Alfie Meadows who underwent surgery after been hit by a police baton charged with violent disorder......Fortnum and Masons protesters charged with aggravated trespass......attacks on political groups on face book. This must stop! Please come along and help organise a response to these attacks on our right to protest

"These raids and arrests are outrageously disproportionate and demonstrate the decline that has taken place in the protection of civil liberties in this country.. Those arrested must be defended and supported by us all". JOHN McDONNELL MP

"This appears to be a worrying extension of police using powers pre-empively to stop people protesting. They claim to be independent and facilitate peaceful protest its difficult to see how they can justify those statements in light of what they are doing" MATT FOOT CAMPAIGNING LAWYER

It has come to our attention that you are using the RADICAL MEDIA trademark to advertise a conference to be held in central London on 8th and 9th October 2011. This conference is not an event licensed by @radical and you will therefore appreciate that your use of the RADICAL MEDIA registered trademark constitutes an infringement and passing-off of @radical’s valuable intellectual property rights.

@radical does not take lightly any misuse of its intellectual property, unauthorised association with their programs of with itself and any possible damage to the reputation, goodwill and earnings of the same.

Accordingly, we therefore require that you immediately cease all use of the RADICAL MEDIA trademark to promote your conference, that you remove and destroy all offending materials from distribution and from all websites developed for your use (including Facebook and Twitter pages) and that you confirm to us in writing that this has been done.

On Tuesday 3 May (Word Press Freedom Day), at 5pm, a demonstration entitled ‘We make radical media, you make adverts’ has been called outside @Radical Media’s offices, London W1T 7AA. It would be great if we could get as many people to come down as possible. There’s a Facebook event to invite people to here. To show your support, please also blog, tweet, forward and link to the story. Also, why not let @radicalmedia know what you think on Twitter or by email? Or you could phone or email the person who sent the threatening letter, Joan C Aceste. Her number is +1 212 462 1500 and her email address is aceste@radicalmedia.com.

MOVE people were not middle class. Many of them were high-school dropouts. Many of them were mothers without husbands. Or young men who refused any inducement to 'fit in'. Yet they had the nerve to critique the system. To reject it and to set up, in place of its rules, guidelines for living that reflected their own beliefs.

The people of MOVE are proof that poor people, not just upper- and middle-class whites and blacks who become hippies, are capable of intelligently perceiving and analyzing American life, politically and socially, and of devising and attempting to follow a different - and, to them, better - way. But because they are poor and black, this is not acceptable behavior to middle-class whites and blacks who think all poor black people should be happy with jherri curls, mindless (and lying) TV shows, and Kentucky fried chicken.

This is not to condone the yelping of fifty to sixty dogs in the middle of the night, dogs MOVE people rescued from the streets (and probable subsequent torture in 'scientific' laboratories), fed, and permitted to sleep in their house. Nor to condone the bullhorn they used to air their neighbors' 'backwardness' or political transgressions, as apparently they had a bad habit of doing. From what I read, MOVE people were more fanatical than the average neighbors. I probably would not have been able to live next door to them for a day.

The question is: Did they deserve the harassment, abuse, and, finally, the vicious death other people's intolerance of their life style brought upon them?

Mumia Abu-Jamal has been on death row since 1982, however other members of the MOVE organisation, a mainly radical African-American animal liberation ecology religious/political organisation, were killed with impunity.

Mumia is a prophet pure and simple. One of the most important political commentators on the planet.

I campaigned hard in 1995 when Gov Tom Ridge signed the death penalty and Mumia had just 30 days to live.

The novelist Alice Walker gave me special permission to use her essay on MOVE in my 1993 'Green History' anthology.

The news that his death sentence has been declared unconstitutional is a victory but the fact that Mumia has been in prison for decades and that MOVE members were bombed and killed by the FBI in 1985, says it all about AmeriKKa.

Great to be back at the London Socialist Film Coop, catch me next sunday, companeros!

TIME TO TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE Alexandra Posada and Andre Camargo global release 2009 [E], DVD, 21 mins Made for Sustain Labour and the International Trade Union Confederation, the video was first launched at the COP 15 Climate Change Convention in Copenhagen and showcases trade unions’ concrete experiences, challenges, opportunities and commitments for action on climate change. It features contributions from over 45 trade union organisations from all over the world. The environment, employment, social justice and a just transition are all part of the same fight.

THE YES MEN FIX THE WORLD Andy Birchlbaum and Mike Bonanno France/UK/US 2009 [12A], DVD, 87 mins Following the popular success of their previous film, The Yes Men ( 2003), the two gonzo political activists return to squeeze raucous comedy out of all the ways that corporate greed is destroying the planet. Posing as top executives of giant corporations they lie their way into big business conferences and pull off the world's most outrageous pranks. The Yes Men operate under the mission statement of telling the truth and exposing lies.

Discussion led by Eric Gordon, Editor of the Camden New Journal,

Derek Wall of the Green Party and author of The No Nonsense Guide to Green Politics(New Internationalist 2010), and Philip Pearson, senior policy officer at the TUC, leading on energy and climate change

Screenings, on the second Sunday of the month, are at the Renoir Cinema, Brunswick Square, London WC1. Tube:Russell Square. Overground: King’s Cross, Euston. Buses: 7, 17, 45, 46, 59, 68, 91, 168, 188. Booking information: tickets are available from 10.30 am on the day and may not be booked in advance. Admission£10, concessions £8. Discount to annual members £4 . We regret that card payments cannot be accepted. Membership: the London Socialist Film Co-op membership form is on a later page. Other enquiries: please phone 020-7278 5764 or see our website: www.socialistfilm.blogspot.com

Chris Knight was arrested yesterday in case he took part in street theatre during the Royal Wedding.

Says it all about Britain today.

Let me make it clear. This is a day of celebration, joy and pageantry for Great Britain. Any criminals attempting to disrupt it - be that in the guise of protest or otherwise - will be met by a robust, decisive, flexible and proportionate policing response.

Part of the operation includes taking action before the day wherever possible to help us to achieve our aims of safety and security.

We have been working closely with officers investigating recent demonstrations in London and as you are aware bail conditions have been imposed on over 60 arrested people, including that they will not be allowed to enter [central] London on the day of the wedding.

I can also confirm that as part of the investigation into the TUC demonstration and the subsequent disorder that took place, since 18 April six people have been arrested for a range of offences. The work of the investigation team continues and as you would have seen over the last few days further images of people we would like to speak to have been released to the media.

28 Apr 2011

One said " I always thought the police were to protect us, when they showed up in riot vans and clothes, then blocked all 3 exits to the park; I got to feel like a criminal. I just brought my son to watch a movie and involve him in community discussion"

Comment on St Werburghs film showing....yes we do live in a police state, look at all the secret police infiltrating activist groups and political parties!

The Saudi oil state armed to the teeth by the US and UK, addicted to oil and the most regressive type of Islam is the source.

Anyway on to article:

Traditional Salafism arrived in Gaza in the 1970s when Palestinian students returned from religious schools in Saudi Arabia. To this day Salafi groups in Gaza receive support from Saudi sources. According to Crisis Group, some, like the Ibn Baz Islamic society, are named after Saudi sheikhs. In the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority has allowed Salafi groups to receive funds from Saudi Arabia as well. Fatah and the PA hoped the Salafis could pose an Islamic counterweight to Hamas. Crisis Group reports: "Salafists have enjoyed the support of Fatah, which appointed them to PA institutions in an effort to compete with Hamas, and have voiced no opposition to the presidency of Mahmoud Abbas, whom they consider the wali al-amr (ruler)." As recently as last year, the PA reportedly appointed Salafi preachers to mosques in the West Bank.

Militant wing

The subset of jihadi or militant Salafis in Gaza includes four main groups: Jund Ansar Allah (Soldiers of God's Supporters), Jaysh Al-Islam (Army of Islam), Jaysh Al-Umma (Army of the Nation), and finally Tawhid wa Al-Jihad (Monotheism and Jihad), whose members were blamed for the killing of Vittorio Arrigoni. Although membership estimates vary widely, the jihadi groups are believed to include no more than a few hundred activists, mostly young men, some of them still in their teens. Two Hamas officials said these groups together number fewer than 100 members. Many of these adherents are recruited from the armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. An unknown further number of cadres within these larger factions have sympathy for the Salafis or may participate in Salafi armed action.

The jihadi Salafis are opposed to Hamas over two primary issues: implementation of Islamic law -- the jihadis want the imposition of a puritanical reading of sharia -- and ceasefires with Israel, which they oppose on principle. Tawhid wa Al-Jihad, the organization whose alleged members were blamed for killing Arrigoni, is said to be one of the smaller groups. According to Hamas and other Salafis quoted by Crisis Group, the group's leader, Hisham Sa'idni, is "more vehemently against Hamas than other Salafi-Jihadis." Saidini's first arrest by Hamas was followed by an escape, Crisis Group reports, during Operation Cast Lead, when Gaza's central prison was destroyed.

I arrived in politics at the tail end of this movement - in the first few years of this century - when all the people were still buzzing from its excitement, and felt that they were still part of something alive and special. Its zenith was already past, and as a movement with real disruptive and popular force it had already ceased to register as it once did. (Though a recent "Earth Liberation Front" action, and a spate of GM test-site trashings are testament to its continued existence in some form.)

This is the only volume to attempt an academic survey of Earth First! and the broader ecological direct action movement in the UK in '90s - the movement that brought you street parties, road protests camps, and the whole counter-culture protester stereotype (dreadlocks, dog on a string, no job, etc.) that's seeped its way into the public imagination. In many ways, this stereotype is a shame, not because it's wholly innacurate, but because it encourages caricature, and dissuades careful analysis of the only really successful British radical social movement since that against the Poll Tax - it set out to beat the roads program, and dammit it did that. For anyone who's now interested in action to combat climate change, this should be a first stop text.

If you want to go to the movement's principle primary sources, you need to read the EF! Action Update, SchNEWS, and Do or Die volumes 1-12. (Indeed at least a couple DoDs have been published since Wall's book, the last one contains a brief narrative history of the movement in it, which is a good reference.)

And now for the obligatory critical comments.

The book does relate alot of its arguments to existing social movement theory, as is intimated by its sub-title. This is sometimes useful, but alot of the time its fairly unhelpful. This isn't Wall's fault, it's just that the present state of social movement theory (much as with International Relations theory) is just so bad that it doesn't illuminate much. He makes a fair stab at locating aspects of EF! within the theory though, and (if you were to be interested) it's not a bad, practical, introduction to the theory of comparartive social movements.

The style is ok... but it doesn't have the raw narrative exhiliration of social movement classics such as Piven & Cloward's Poor Peoples' Movements or Kirkpatrick Sale's SDS. Its also a shame that it doesn't capture as well as it might have done the complete psychedelic mentalness of aspects of the movement... here isn't the place to go into some of the stories you hear, but jeez...

My main complaint - if this is a legitimate complaint - is just that I wanted more. The book's just under 200 pages long, and with all the room given over to relating material to contemporary debates in social movement theory, there's unforunately little on the actual key struggles of the period. There's little sense of the dynamics of each anti-road battle, and almost nothing but the most skeleton outline on the Reclaim the Streets organisation, and next to nothing on the anti-Criminal Justice Bill organisation. As a social movement activist, I do appreciate Wall's engagement. But I really want to know more about how things were organised, where they got the resources, etc.

There's also little quantitative data. For example - how many people really were involved in this movement, and its related millieu? It also would have been good to see a tabulated breakdown of significant facts related to the 29 in depth interviews undertaken by Wall in the course of writing the book - e.g. class identification (if any), age, gender, cultural identifications etc. Indeed, criticisms of the movements failures are currently rife in activist circles, and the book does little to evaluate them. Perhaps these critiques have become more prominent since the book's publication in 1999 however.

There's a good survey or where the roads building program came from, but little real detail on the extent to which it was pushed back. Nor of how far its victories now threaten to be eroded - which was the subject of speculation of Burbridge and Torrance, the founders of EF! (UK), in a 2001 Guardian article. Though again, the book is nearly 10 years old now, and many of the developments have occured since it was written.

But all in all. This is an essential work if you're seriously interested in this movement, and picks up well on a lot of stuff that total outsiders don't really get - the synergy with rave culture, Greenham Common activists, urban squatters etc. A little dry at times, but in summary very valuable. The book charts the birth of something fascinating and important. The rapid and unpredicted radicalisation of tens of thousands of people, a not insignificant proportion of a generation, in the heat of action: radical and uncompromising "in defence of Mother Earth!"

Police StatementMy name is Kevin Lister, and I am writing this statement in response to my arrest in August of 2010 on charges of fraud and criminal damage.

I was interviewed in August 2010 were I answered all questions put. I was first bailed to appear in October, then November, then January, then March and now April. No charges have yet been pressed against me and this statement is in preparation for my return bail hearing on the 12th April and in place of any interview.

The fraud allegation was made against me because of a spoof web site that I posted which purported that the Air Show in 2010 would be the last Air Show ever due to concerns about the carbon foot print of an event such as this. I posted this to challenge the legality and morality of an event of this nature which is both highly polluting and is an advertisement for other highly polluting industries and ways of life. Despite the supposedly charitable nature of the event, one of its charitable objectives was "to support aviation in all its guises." It should be noted that aviation doubles greenhouse gas emissions every 17 years whilst simultaneously enjoying high degrees of tax protection; it therefore hardly warrants charitable support.

It is now clear that the planet, our home, is on target to exceed the worst case scenarios of the 2007 IPCC report (ref 1). Latest measurements show CO2 levels in the atmosphere are increasing at the rate of 3.4% per annum, which will lead to a doubling of CO2 within 20 years. (ref 2). With this rate of increase it is inconceivable that the planet will still be habitable at the end of this century. Recent ideas on super exponential growth of CO2 emissions are further reinforcing this argument (ref 3) and indicate we have even less time to act than we previously thought.

Therefore the requirement for all people to speak out about the injustice of climate change grows by the day as the science solidifies and every new piece of emerging evidence supports the worst case conclusion. In fact, it is a moral obligation to speak out; to quote both George Osborne and Barrack Obama, “we are all in this together.” Furthermore, staying quiet is not an option as being quiet is effectively being complicit to the ecocidal destruction of our planet.

Despite the overwhelming evidence of the science, it is still legal and acceptable by large corporations to add to the planet's pollution overload. Not only is it legal to add to the planet's pollution load, but the legal system as it is currently structured actively supports this aberration by making any attempt to make effective protest a criminal act.

Its later than you think, there is a very serious crisis on our planet and most environmental action is proving tokenistic and irrelevent.

However indigenous people are fighting for ecology, while we must reject romantic bullshit, indigenous can get things badly wrong as well, because indigenous people depend on local environments they have generally found ways of managing them ecologically.

Green Parties and environmental groups should focus on indigenous solidarity as a priority.

I have been very impressed by the high level of organisation and shrewd strategy of Aidesep which is the organisation of Peruvian Amazon people.

This is a recent Aidesep statement rejecting a government decree for gm crops in Peru, I have translated it crudely from Spanish....again if you read Spanish have a look at the original.

Indigenous organisations claim that proposed introduction of gm is invalid

Aidesep in conjuction with other indigenous organisations have released a statement calling for the rejection of a government decree allowing gm in the country (Peru), the entry of transgenenic seeds creates a risk to biodiversity, food security and the health of Peru.

GM seeds directly harm small farming activity which is the livelihoods of thousands of indigenous and peasant families who provide food for those in urban areas. 60% of food is grown by small farmers.

Indigenous and peasant organizations joined in the national coalition of Andean, coastal and Amazon regions, in addition to the AIDESEP, CNA, CONACAMI, CCPand ONAMIAP, - signed statement, which rejects gm and protests against the failure to consult indigenous people and peasant farmers on the part of the government.

They cautioned that this supreme decree stems from an international lobbying association between the Peruvian authorities and transnational corporations and regretted that the APRA government output and this Supreme Decree issued showing once again that their management is incompatible with the social benefit of environmental and cultural in the country.

Therefore, we called on all Peruvian civil society to support this law suit and demand the annulment of the Supreme Decree 003-2011, we are a country capable of producing healthy food without damaging Mother Earth.

25 Apr 2011

Long time campaigner and Green party member, Edith East, is proud to be standing for Medway council in next months full local election in her home ward of Walderslade. She has been an activist most of her adult life and this year volunteered to be the Green candidate in her ward. Edith reaches a respectable 90 years old in October this year but feels that age should not be a barrier in politics, any more than in other walks of life.

Edith says "I know some people may not approve of me because of my age but with age comes experience, so I have a lot of that!"

As well as being a Green party member Edith also supports Greenpeace (she spent her 87 birthday on board the Rainbow Warrior when it came to the Medway Towns), Amnesty International and CND. In fact Edith regularly visited Greenham Common in support of the women camped out there.

Edith added "My mother was a suffragette so I suppose you could say political activism is in my blood. I hope my standing encourages other people, both young and old, to get involved in their local political scene".

The Green Party of England and Wales is running 1,600 candidates in the local elections. This is a fantastic achievement for a party with 12,000 members. I am standing in Winkfield and Cranbourne ward and like many Greens I face just Conservative and Labour candidates, many Liberal Democrats have with drawn and the BNP is only running in a third of the seats it contested in 2010.

There will be a squeeze with Labour riding higher in the polls than they have done for five years but the Lib Dems are slumping and as I say often not contesting seats and we have been boosted by the election of our first MP, Caroline Lucas, who does a fantastic job.

I reckon Easton and Ashley wards in Bristol, I have lived in both wards in the 1980s and 90s, could go green.

Redhill, where we were just a few votes from gaining a second councillor should see victories.

Local authorities have been savagely attacked by the present government and any Greens elected will have a tough task but we can use victories to fight the cuts.

I would urge readers to go and help in key wards.

My friend Joseph Healy has an interesting account of doing just this on his ever excellent Cabbages and Kings blog:

Down to Redhill on Friday last to campaign in the local election campaign there for Phil Wilson, standing in Redhill West. We spent the morning, in blazing sunshine and the heat, going around the more leafy areas near London Road and near East Surrey College where Phil works. A mixture of responses on the doorsteps and many people out because of the weather and the Easter weekend.

Then off to a lovely old pub in Reigate for lunch with some other local campaigners and then we canvassed one of the largest council estates in the ward in the afternoon. The sight of Phil discussing AV with a voter wielding a kitchen knife at the door was somewhat concerning - but she turned out to be a Green voter. Noticed severeal Eastern European EU citizens also there and pointed out that they were entitled to vote, one was a Romanian and I pointed out my interest and connection with Romania, having spent my summer holidays there last year and my strong connections with the Romanian Green Party.

Finally off for a quick drink to the town centre, where I met sitting Green councillor, Jonathan Essex, who is campaigning in the neigbouring ward for his running mate and then it was the train back to London. I am certain that Phil will do well in Redhill - he is hardworking and committed and has signed up to the local anti-cuts campaign.

"Exceedingly poor judgement, an insult to the victims of royal repression"

Invitations should be withdrawn - Tyrants not welcome

London - 25 April 2011

"St James's Palaceclaims the Queen invited eight royal dictators to the royal wedding with the agreement of the Foreign Office. This approval was presumably sanctioned by the Foreign Secretary, William Hague," said human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, Director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation.

"William Hague should come clean about the advice he gave the Queen. If he did authorise wedding invitations to these eight royal tyrants, he has shown exceedingly poor judgement and has insulted the victims of royal repression," added Mr Tatchell.

St James's Palace has defended the wedding list, insisting the Foreign Office had approved it. "Invitations are extended from the Queen following the long-held tradition of inviting other crowned heads of state; we have taken advice from the Foreign Office about their continued inclusion," a spokesman said.

"As a result of protests by human rights campaigners, Bahrain's royal autocrat is no longer attending the wedding. But seven other dictator monarchs are still on the guest list," noted Mr Tatchell.

"It is deplorable that the Queen is still inviting royal dictators from Saudi Arabia, Swaziland, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Brunei and Abu Dhabi. All seven royal families preside over severe human rights abuses, such as detention without trial, torture, the denial of free speech, restrictions on press freedom and the violent suppression of peaceful protests.

"The invitations are a serious misjudgement by the monarch. They show the Queen is out of touch with the humanitarian values of most British people. She's putting royalty before human rights.

"The guest list displays a shocking insensitivity to the suffering of people who have been persecuted by these royal tyrants. It is an insult to the victims of dictatorship for our royal family to welcome and embrace these oppressors.

"The invitations should be withdrawn immediately, as a mark of respect for those who have been murdered, arrested, jailed and tortured," urged Mr Tatchell.

We know how it works, the secret services and police find vulnerable people and lean on them. Ends are said to justify means.

You might know somebody is innocent but pressure can be put on them to use as an assett.

Wikileaks for backing up what is known with solid documentation is enemy number one for the US.

A number of British nationals and residents were held for years even though US authorities knew they were not Taliban or al-Qaida members. One Briton, Jamal al-Harith, was rendered to Guantánamo simply because he had been held in a Taliban prison and was thought to have knowledge of their interrogation techniques. The US military tried to hang on to another Briton, Binyam Mohamed, even after charges had been dropped and evidence emerged he had been tortured.

24 Apr 2011

LA PAZ, Bolivia, April 20, 2011 (ENS) - Bolivia today marked the International Day of Mother Earth with a ceremony in the Plaza Murillo, the center of political power. An ancient ritual shared center stage with speeches in which authorities in this Andean nation extolled the Law of Mother Earth - the world's first legislation that grants to all nature rights equal to humans.

President Evo Morales, the first indigenous leader of Bolivia, is the architect of the Law of Mother Earth. Supported by politicians as well as nongovernmental organizations, the law is expected to easily pass the National Congress where Morales' ruling party, the Movement Towards Socialism, has a majority in both houses.

Today's event was attended by representatives of the executive branch and legislators, diplomats, indigenous peoples and peasants.

Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca told the crowd, "In Bolivia we seek a return to balance, a harmonious life not only between individuals but between man and nature, so today must be a day of reflection of awareness of all to care for our Mother Earth and take timely means for our mother back to its natural balance."

The first article of the Law of Mother Earth says that every human activity has to "achieve dynamic balance with the cycles and processes inherent in Mother Earth."

It defines Mother Earth as "a unique, indivisible, self-regulating community of interrelated beings that sustains, contains and reproduces all beings."

In parallel, a fair was held to raise awareness about global warming and its effects, and the Bolivia-led crusade for nature protection.

Minister of the Presidency Oscar Coca told the crowd that Bolivia has the "conviction" to promote international policies that promote awareness of the climate change problem in all nations across the planet.

"President Evo Morales says the planet can live without humans, but humans can not live without the planet and reminds the world today that the rights of nature should be rights equal to those we, ourselves, enjoy," Coca said.

Inspired by Bolivia, in 2009, the UN General Assembly proclaimed April 22 as International Mother Earth Day, expressing its conviction that, to achieve a just balance among the economic, social and environmental needs of present and future generations, "it is necessary to promote harmony with nature and the Earth."

In October 2009, the General Assembly named President Morales "World Hero of Mother Earth."

The Morales Government intends to establish a Ministry of Mother Earth to implement the Law of Mother Earth, which will establish new rights for nature, including:

the right to maintain the integrity of life and natural processes the right to not have cellular structure modified or genetically altered the right to continue vital cycles and processes free from human alteration the right to pure water the right to clean air the right to balance, to be at equilibrium the right to be free of toxic and radioactive pollution the right to not be affected by mega-infrastructure and development projects that affect the balance of ecosystems and the local inhabitant communitiesThe law promotes "harmony" and "peace" and "the elimination of all nuclear, chemical, biological" weapons.

At the same time, President Morales is set to announce on May 1 that he will be "dismantling the privatization model," thereby expropriating privately owned zinc, silver and tin mines.

The government plans to place these mines under government control reversing the actions of previous administrations that sold the mines to private interests.

The Corp Minera de Bolivia, known as Comibol, will operate all the newly expropriated mines. Several mines have already been expropriated under Morales presidency, including the Vinto tin smelter.

Soon after his election as president in 2006, the Morales Government took over gas and oil refineries, all in a bid to have the government control the country's natural resources.

As a result of these policies, foreign private investment in Bolivia has plummeted.

He told me a few weeks back about his time in prison for refusing to fight a second tour of duty in Afghanistan, he said in military prison he had a lot of support and understanding for other soldiers.

Really proud to know ex-military comrades like my amigo Shane who is a Kansas based radical and ex-Marine.

Joe is urging people to vote green in the elections on May 5th including me, I am standing in Winkfield and Cranbourne ward of Bracknell Forest Council.

‘Vote Green on May 5th’, urges Anti-war campaigner Joe Glenton.

Prominent anti-war campaigner Joe Glenton, who hit national headlines in 2009 for refusing to serve in the war in Afghanistan, has urged voters to support the Green Party in May’s local elections.

Glenton, who is from York, said that he had been convinced that the Green Party represented the only electoral option to the ConDems government’s program of cuts and wars for oil.He said that only the Green Party had argued persuasively against the need for any cuts to public services, whereas Labour broadly agreed with the government that the bankers and speculators should not be made to pay for causing the financial crisis.

The Green Party argues that the national deficit can be paid for by closing tax loopholes, raising corporation tax and income tax for the very richest individuals, and by introducing a levy on risky financial speculation (known as a ‘Robin Hood Tax’). The Green Party does support cuts in some areas. This includes not spending billions of pounds replacing the useless Trident Missile system and not intervening in endless foreign wars.

Glenton said that he was impressed that the Green Party’s leader, Dr. Caroline Lucas MP, had voted against the government’s motion to support the use of “all necessary means” against Libya. Dr. Lucas said that she supported a limited no-fly zone, but that ‘Iraq showed us the danger of giving any government - Labour or Conservative - a blank cheque for military involvement.’Glenton noted that this was in stark contrast to Ed Miliband, who had supported a resolution which is likely to drag the UK into yet another expensive and prolonged foreign conflict. He said: ‘New Labour are simply Tory-lite. If people want to elect politicians who will oppose savage cuts and wars for oil, then they should vote for the Green Party on May 5th.’

If you want to celebrate St George's Day then go and have a picnic on the Downs somewhere. Despite what you may think no group of 'Muslamics' is going to descend on you to stop you celebrating..DON'T march through our town, we don't want it and despite what you say you are only doing it to be confrontational. You're all about as 'patriotically English' as Adolf Hitler. You want to raise money? Rent a hall and have a jumble sale.

23 Apr 2011

Just rewatched 'Nine Queens' excellent Argentinean film about two con men.

A cast of interesting characters, lots of twists.

Gets you thinking too of the spectral nature of money and the way banks are rather more dangerous to most people than bank robbers.

Ok its got a narrative but shows you can have films beyond Planet Hollywood.

Watch and enjoy.

As this review from Novel Adventures (a pretty cool culture blog) notes it has something special:

Then there’s Buenos Aires, a gorgeous city. It has some dodgy areas, of course, but the architecture, plazas, gardens, and waterfronts give the Paris of the Americas a special beauty. None of this is clearly shown in Nueve Reinas which is a tad disappointing. It certainly would have been a great way to show the city at its best. But what this movie does do brilliantly is depict the Argentine sensibilities and humor while running with one storyline and having another, more complicated story, simmer just below the surface.

On Tuesday Keith Taylor will be visiting Kent to sign the Natura 2000 pledge at the RSPB’s Dungeness Nature Reserve. The reserve is part of the European-wide Natura 2000 network.

Keith is supporting the campaign against the proposed expansion of nearby Lydd Airport, which will have an impact on the reserve, and has written to the Secretary of State to voice his objections.

Keith said: “This exceptional part of Kent is recognised as a Natura 2000 site, protected by EU environmental laws, because it’s one of the most sensitive wildlife habitats in the UK. Dungeness is home to exceptionally fragile communities of animals and over 600 species of plants – a third of all plants found in the UK. It’s a privilege to visit such a unique place which is facing a deeply worrying threat from the proposed expansion of Lydd airport, which I am continuing to oppose.”

Dr André Farrar, Saving Special Places Campaign Manager for the RSPB, will give Keith a tour of the reserve. Dr Farrar said: “Natura 2000 is Europe’s Premier League of wildlife sites. They are the best of the best and protecting them and the wildlife that depends on them will be essential if Governments are to meet their target of halting the loss of biodiversity by 2020.

“We believe that the expansion of Lydd Airport could seriously damage the Natura 2000 site of which our Dungeness reserve is a part and we have given evidence against the expansion plans at the Public Inquiry.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Natura 2000 is the name given to the Europe-wide network of sites designated as sites of European importance under the EC Birds and Habitats directives. They are made up of Special Protection Areas (SPAs), which are designated for their importance to birdlife, and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) for their importance to other wildlife.

For more information on the work of Keith Taylor MEP, please contact Alice Taylor on 020 7164 2151 or keithpress@greenmeps.org.uk

20 Apr 2011

Defra recently announced thatthe plan to sell off 15% of England's public forest - started under thelast government, and which was never subject to consultation but merelypostponed (1) - is to go ahead within the span of the spending review (2).This means that 40,000 hectares will be sold within the next four years,with no genuine guarantee on the future of England's remaining 218,000hectares. (3)

The coalition's apparent u-turn on the forestry sale washeralded as a victory of people power, with Environment Secretary CarolineSpelman apologising in the House of Commons, saying "I am sorry, we gotthis one wrong - but we have listened to people's concerns". (4) Whilecampaigners were rightly proud that the government seemed to have listenedto them, the fight is far from over.

This recent announcement, quietlyslipped out, unmasks the 'u-turn' as a mere stunt. The future of our forestis far from secure. People value and enjoy English woodland, which is animportant part of our heritage. They want forests to be sustainably managedin the interests of biodiversity and climate protection, and they do notwant their right of access to be removed or obstructed.

Penny Kemp, GreenParty Environment spokesperson said, "Yet again, we see the true colours ofthis Coalition Government. They seem incapable of being truthful with thepublic. This latest u-turn on a u-turn is being done by stealth. Far fromlistening to the concerns of the public, they are treating them withcontempt. The public made it quite clear that they considered a 30pinvestment by all to keep Britains forests in public ownership istremendous value for money."

The Green Party believes that our forestsshould remain in public ownership. We want to work with the ForestryCommission to improve environmental stewardship of natural spaces, strikingthe right balance between public education, enjoyment, and preservingforests as a haven for wildlife.

18 Apr 2011

Derrida said that the meaning of a word was always deferred. He meant that words have meaning only in contrast to other words. Black makes no sense without white and so on. The search for the meaning of a word goes on forever.

Sometimes it seems that green politics is always deferred. Just when you think you have reached an example of green politics, you see a flaw and look for another example and so on.

This is because green politics goes deeply against the rhythm and grain of the world we live in, the world of the throw away planet. We have a civilisation, if you can call it that, which seems profoundly uncivilised to my mind, based on taking the resources of our beautiful planet, turning them into commodities and throwing the goods produced away, so the cycle can begin again.

Work, consume, throw away is the religion of the age and those who speak against it are heretics. Nobody likes to be a heretic, so greens like the rest of humanity are tempted to bend with the wind of market pressures and media instruction.

For example, we have the transition movement. In many ways an inspiring movement based on transforming local communities so that they are sustainable. However, local does not go deep enough. Here in the UK, where I live, huge spending cuts mean that bus and rail fares are rising sharply and if I try to cycle to my nearest town I risk death because of busy roads. Local is good but does the transition town movement look at the operations of governments and corporations that structure localities so it is difficult to be green? Without political change our efforts can be more compensatory than practical.

We have Green Parties - don’t get me wrong, I am a devoted Green Party member and a local councillor for the Party. Green Parties are committed to changing structures at a government level and challenging corporations.

But they face a difficult task; profound challenges to wasteful capitalism are not always electorally appealing and there is immense pressure to conform. The Green Party has won elections and gone into government in coalitions but have not so far had the power to make the deep changes needed.

We move on! In many ways green politics has shifted to Latin America. In Venezuela and Bolivia, governments have directly challenged capitalism and called for ecosocialism. In Ecuador and Bolivia Mother Earth rights are part of the constitution. All of this is hugely inspiring but these countries are still tidied into global markets and largely extractive economies which still depend on using oil, gas and mineral extraction for prosperity.

To the best of the transition towners, Green Party activists and Latin American left, I am happy to say you are my friends and inspire me. However, the conservative and simple desire to be good ancestors and leave the planet in a decent state for our kids is not an easy thing. It means profound economic and cultural change. We must always think more deeply, work harder and challenge what seems like common sense. Confused? Well, try this simple test: if the media and the markets love you, you know you are doing bad by the rest of nature and your children’s children.

‘It ain’t easy being green but the alternative of ecological destruction, rising injustice and war is unthinkable. Green politics is the most important thing and one of the most difficult.’

While Palestinian, Israeli and international non-violent protesters who march against Israel’s policies in the Occupied Territories are literally showered in sewage, beaten, arbitrarily arrested and sometimes killed by Israeli forces, the battle against non-violent resistance has taken its own ugly form in Australia.

Supporters of the non-violent global boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement — especially members of the Greens — have been subjected to abuse in a deliberate national campaign of misinformation and slurs orchestrated against them. It has questioned their values and integrity and falsely accused them of anti-Semitism.

The war on BDS is part of a concerted effort to sabotage Palestinian and Israeli non-violent resistance against Israel’s 43-year-old illegal occupation and its 63 years of discrimination against non-Jewish Israeli citizens.

16 Apr 2011

To mark the one year anniversary of the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill, join us for ‘The great BP-sponsored sleep-in’, a 4-minute flashmob art installation inside Tate Modern. Imagine the turbine hall of this former power station filled with BP-branded sleeping figures, who will soon wake from their BP-sponsored coma to sound the climate alarm.

BP’s greenwash is sleepwalking us into the climate crisis. BP sponsors galleries like Tate to try and clean up its tarnished image, and distract us from its devastating activities around the world. Every pound of dirty oil money accepted by Tate helps legitimise a long legacy of environmental destruction and human rights abuses. It’s time to take off the blindfold, rub the sponsorship sleep from our eyes, and give Tate and BP a wake-up call.

This family friendly event will highlight BP’s sponsorship to the public, and show that we are not prepared to stand by as the Tate helps BP greenwash its image… and allow us all a few minutes to dream of a future free from oil spills and oil sponsorship of the arts.

SIX STEPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL SPONSORED SLEEP-IN 1. Synchronise your watch using this website:http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fullscreen.html?n=136 2. Enter the building before 2PM 3. Choose your sleep-in spot – café, corridor, lift, gift shop, and of course exhibits are all fair game, but please pick somewhere on Levels 1 (turbine hall level), 2 or 3 (this is where our camera crews will be to film the fun). 4. At exactly 2.15PM, unpack your BP branded sheet, pillow, pyjamas, sleep mask, teddy bear, alarm clock or any other sleep related props (see here for ideas and downloadable props: http://www.artnotoil.org.uk/bpweekofaction/resources ) and start the sleep-in! 5. Exactly 4 minutes later, the flash mob will be over as alarm clocks sound the wake-up call throughout the gallery. Take off your sponsored blindfolds and bedding, leave them behind if you wish, and head outside to… 6. Post-slumber party on the South Bank. Listen to speakers from BP-affected communities from the Gulf of Mexico and the Canadian Tar Sands, help engage gallery-goers with leaflets and vox pop video messages and enjoy live music and a pedal-powered sound system.

So join us on April 17th, and show the Tate that we won’t take oil sponsorship of the arts lying down!

Michael Baron, 82, of South Street, is representing the Green Party in the town’s Christ Church ward.

Mr Baron, who has been a member of the Allerdale and Copeland Green party for five years, wants to raise the profile of green and environmental issues.

He said: “We will be looking to promote pro-green issues because we have to look at things like climate change. We have to change our lifestyle.

“We are also the only party opposing the construction of a deep nuclear waste depository in West Cumbria.”

Mr Baron said the party was becoming more prominent in West Cumbria and nationally.

He said: “Our performance in the by-election following the retirement of Les Lytollis in August was respectable.

“I just hope we can clock up some votes and put up a good show.”

The party will field another six candidates in Allerdale at this year’s local elections.

Only two candidates stood for election four years ago, but this year the party equals the number of Liberal Democrats standing.

Jill Perry and Geoff Smith both stood four years ago and they will be standing for the Crummock ward and Ellen Ward respectively.

They are joined by Alistair Grey, who will be contesting Seaton, Felicity Crowley, who will be standing for the Dalton ward, Helen Graham in the Wharrels ward and Maryport’s Dianne Standen in Netherhall ward.

Mr Smith, chairman of the local branch, said: “This time four years ago we were an acorn of a party but we are growing into a significant political force.

“We hope to capitalise on the success of our party leader in getting elected to Parliament and to learn from the success of the Green Party in Germany, who have just taken control of one state and have become the largest opposition party.”

Praising Karl Marx might seem as perverse as putting in a good word for the Boston Strangler. Were not Marx's ideas responsible for despotism, mass murder, labor camps, economic catastrophe, and the loss of liberty for millions of men and women? Was not one of his devoted disciples a paranoid Georgian peasant by the name of Stalin, and another a brutal Chinese dictator who may well have had the blood of some 30 million of his people on his hands?

The truth is that Marx was no more responsible for the monstrous oppression of the communist world than Jesus was responsible for the Inquisition. For one thing, Marx would have scorned the idea that socialism could take root in desperately impoverished, chronically backward societies like Russia and China. If it did, then the result would simply be what he called "generalized scarcity," by which he means that everyone would now be deprived, not just the poor. It would mean a recycling of "the old filthy business"—or, in less tasteful translation, "the same old crap." Marxism is a theory of how well-heeled capitalist nations might use their immense resources to achieve justice and prosperity for their people. It is not a program by which nations bereft of material resources, a flourishing civic culture, a democratic heritage, a well-evolved technology, enlightened liberal traditions, and a skilled, educated work force might catapult themselves into the modern age.

Marx certainly wanted to see justice and prosperity thrive in such forsaken spots. He wrote angrily and eloquently about several of Britain's downtrodden colonies, not least Ireland and India. And the political movement which his work set in motion has done more to help small nations throw off their imperialist masters than any other political current. Yet Marx was not foolish enough to imagine that socialism could be built in such countries without more-advanced nations flying to their aid. And that meant that the common people of those advanced nations had to wrest the means of production from their rulers and place them at the service of the wretched of the earth. If this had happened in 19th-century Ireland, there would have been no famine to send a million men and women to their graves and another two or three million to the far corners of the earth.

There is a sense in which the whole of Marx's writing boils down to several embarrassing questions: Why is it that the capitalist West has accumulated more resources than human history has ever witnessed, yet appears powerless to overcome poverty, starvation, exploitation, and inequality? What are the mechanisms by which affluence for a minority seems to breed hardship and indignity for the many? Why does private wealth seem to go hand in hand with public squalor? Is it, as the good-hearted liberal reformist suggests, that we have simply not got around to mopping up these pockets of human misery, but shall do so in the fullness of time? Or is it more plausible to maintain that there is something in the nature of capitalism itself which generates deprivation and inequality, as surely as Charlie Sheen generates gossip?

15 Apr 2011

Do you think that AV will exclude creative minorities even more effectively than the first past the post system?

At least, tactically, a genuine proportional representation system might allow more space for voices from beyond the mainstream. But the proposed Alternative Vote (AV) system isn’t proportionate. Instant run-off voting is designed to make the current ‘first-past-the-post’ system seem more acceptable, but like all elections where the winner takes all, it only creates the false impression of majority support. In fact, AV is more likely to squeeze out any minority parties, reduce the impact of protest votes and reinforce the blandness of political debate.

Or do you think that AV is a huge improvement on first past the post?

A ‘No’ vote to electoral reform would send out all the wrong messages, and be trumpeted as evidence that the British public is broadly content with our politics. Worse still, it might derail existing commitments to see PR introduced for the second chamber. It wouldn’t so much weaken the coalition as confirm our own powerlessness in the face of the interests that guide its agenda. It’s not for nothing that the head of the Taxpayers’ Alliance has given up his time to lead the ‘No’ campaign.

14 Apr 2011

Some on the whole wise words from Green Party member Brian Orr, hey I am less pessimistic and I don't agree with him on population and I think we still have our roots (I know I do) but worth reading comments welcome!

The Green Party is marching steadily towards being a credible party with a prospect of slowly becominga genuine factor in British politics (with AV being of zero consequence here for the present).

Tragically this is the view, almost universally held within and without the Green Party, as per the 99% prevailing"business more or less as usual until the end of time" paradigm.

Never mind that the world's ecological footprint is currently exceeding "sustainable income" by some 40% and growing.Never mind that we are rushing headlong into a multiple tipping point scenario of uncontrollable climate change with virtuallyno signs of bringing our greenhouse gas emissions down.Never mind the biggest economy in the world is looking like it may have to default on Treasury bond returns.Never mind the Chinese are engaged in a breath-taking land-grab and minerals grab with Brazil, India and Russiaplaying similar tunes at the same concert.Never mind the world's population is accelerating with barely passing concern in any government.Never mind a billion of more of the world's poorest people are seeking to overthrow the system of compliantgovernments and ever expanding corporate influence (examples Great Britain, India).

The Green Party is in the process of forgetting it's roots in pursuing the prize of being an influential player inthe game of governing this country.

But this will not effect one jot the manifestations of the 'growth disease' listed above. And when the pigeons comehome to roost, possibly in under a decade, quite a few will land on the Green Party.

Does the UK have a recipe for the survival? One could do a lot worse in terms of 'material reality' than follow theprescription of the Centre for Alternative Technology's report "Zero Carbon Britain 2030".

What would happen to the Green Party politically if it followed this prescription? We would probably be wiped out electorally!But we'd attract a whole army of people who have seen the light - and we would regain our soul!

The Coalition of Resistance is organising a European conference against Austerity, Cuts and Privatisation, and in defence of the Welfare State on Saturday 1st October in London.In Britain, the appeal for the conference is supported by Tony Benn, Len McCluskey (Unite General Secretary), Bob Crow (RMT General Secretary), John McDonnell MP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Caoline Lucas MP, Jeremy Dear, NUJ General Secretary, Ken Loach, Kate Hudson, Imran Khan (the People’s Charter), Chris Bambery (Secretary Right to Work campaign), Clare Solomon (President ULU Students Union) and Lee Jasper BARAC.

The Coalition of Resistance is currently approaching trade-unions, social movements and progressive organisations in other countries to join with us in the preparation for this conference, and planning for a common response.

We hope that this conference will be a step towards co-ordinating the resistance by agreeing to European-wide action against Austerity and in Defence of our Welfare State. In every country in Europe, all the social gains of the post war period are now threatened under the pretext of having to repay the debt incurred in bailing out banks in 2008. There is already resistance in many countries in Europe. But we need to learn from each others’ experiences and work towards a co-ordinated resistance across Europe and beyond.

Jeremy Marks, director of Courage UK, an evangelical group supportive of gay, lesbian and bisexual people, said: ‘Symon Hill’s pilgrimage of repentance is one of those projects that truly warms and encourages the heart of any gay person, because it recognises deeply held views yet illustrates the process of repentance in a very real and inspiring way. Let us pray that Symon’s example will inspire many others to reconsider their views and similarly repent of their homophobia.’

Dressed as The Railway Children (as much tweed as you can manage!) we willhold a rally at Monument station before taking red flannel petticoats andflags to the railway platform. From there you’re invited to join theUnfair Fare Dodge as we pay a reasonable fare for a 30 mile journey (we’llpay the amount you would pay for the equivalent journey in Europe). Ourgovernment plans to increase fares a massive 31% over the next 4 years. Tocut carbon emissions, we need to cut - not increase - train fares. We cando something about that.

Stuart Jeffery, the Green Party's health spokesperson has called on nurses to unite against the draft Health and Social Care Bill.

Stuart, himself a registered nurse, has written to the Royal College of Nursing's president, Andrea Spyropoulos, and its general secretary, Peter Carter, calling for the RCN to come out fighting against the devatating changes to the NHS being driven through by the coalition government. He has pointed out that the internal market deprives the NHS of up to half a million nurses.

"At a time when nurses are propping up the NHS with increasing levels of unpaid overtime and clinicians are becoming concerned about the NHS reforms, the RCN needs to take a strong stance against the government's NHS reforms. (1) The quality of care is suffering as cuts bite into the NHS, and yet the government wants to waste even more increasing the scope of the internal market and in privatising more hospitals. (2) This is simply immoral.

"There is enough money tied up in running the internal market to fund up to an additional 500 000 nurses, far more than we need, yet the government is wedded to the idea that a market can run the NHS. It is time to challenge the 'market knows best' attitude which will spell the end of the NHS. I have written to the RCN urging them to come out fighting against the immoral health bill and to fight to save the NHS. I hope they take note.

12 Apr 2011

The Mirrar People have renewed their opposition to the multibillion-dollarJabiluka uranium deposit in Australia's Northern territory, declaring theirwish, in solidarity with the people of Japan, to include the deposit as part ofthe UNESCO world heritage-listed Kakadu National Park.

I think I am more sympathetic to the SWP but lets see, these left group do multiple don't they.

glad to b green, less multiple splits.....

Dear CC and Party Members,

We, the undersigned, are writing to inform you of our resignation from the Socialist Workers Party. This is not a decision that we have taken lightly: for all of us, it is an immense emotional and political strain to abandon an organisation in which we have invested countless hours.

Following the last split from the Party we were told there would be an end to factionalism. It is our position that this was not followed out in practice: factionalism persists at the very centre of the organisation. Allegations have been made against some of us and will undoubtedly continue. However, we have been committed to building the party as well as intervening in the anti-cuts movement, both on campuses and through Right to Work as well as relating to the Arab revolutions. We have not departed from the party line; indeed, we have been at the forefront of developing the organisation.

We are appalled by the factionalism which has driven Chris Bambery from the SWP. This is a consequence of a culture that pervades sections of the organisation and flows from the majority grouping on the Central Committee. This has impacted negatively on the work of the SWP, primarily demonstrated in a retreat from systematic united front work.

In particular our work around the Right to Work campaign has been confused and patchy across the country, primarily because the Central Committee - as a whole - did not drive that perspective from its inception.

In the build-up to the 26 March we could have been organising to get every possible local anti-cuts and trade union activist working together to carry out mass leafleting, but the message from the centre was to concentrate on building it through our paper sales. Those were, of course, vital; but we also needed to place ourselves alongside the thousands who were working to build the march.

Consequently the SWP's ability to influence wider layers of people provided by the biggest demonstration in trade union history was restricted. There are some very good SWSS groups, but the Glasgow students were the only SWSS group with any sizable presence on the student feeder march. Amidst arguably the biggest youth revolt in British history - and despite reports of bumper recruitment to the Party after Millbank - this should have been a massive wake-up call.

But rather than face up to the consequences and adjust our strategy, a faction on the CC has turned its attention to Right to Work national secretary Chris Bambery, who has been labelled "disgusting", "filthy", accused of playing a factional role in Scotland and of wanting to wreck the SWP. This culture means that the SWP nationally has not taken up the campaign in defence of Bryan Simpson, with the Morning Star giving it more coverage than Socialist Worker. At the time of the Arab revolutions a pre-existing factional attitude towards the Stop the War Coalition meant too often we did not throw ourselves into building solidarity actions initiated by them.

Chris Bambery's resignation means we can no longer trust a section of the Central Committee. Let us be clear, we are not leaving the organisation just because of Chris Bambery’s forced resignation, but rather because we understand as symptomatic of a disease within the party that has held back its work and development over the past couple of years and distorted its theoretical tradition.

We have fought for a non-sectarian approach to party building and our results bear this out. Our position on this will not change. We intend to establish a Marxist organisation in Scotland.

We wish to express our gratitude to the comrades in Scotland and elsewhere who have shared our frustrations but have not been willing or able to take this last step. We want to work fraternally with the SWP as we do with all groups on the Left and the Trade Union movement.

We wish those in the SWP success in building revolutionary politics. It is painful that it is not possible to move on together.

However, we are all as determined as ever to continue as revolutionary socialists and to meet the theoretical and practical challenges raised by the ruling class offensive and the emerging anti-austerity movement.

No Nonsense Guide to Green Politics

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About Me

I am a green activist, writer and economist. Three kids, live in Winkfield. Live low impact on the land in my trailer, I am a Green Party local councillor. Ecosocialist and fan of Elinor Ostrom, have worked closely with the Peruvian indigenous leader Hugo Blanco to fight.